Junkers Ju 52/3mg unit code D1 during prewar para training operations 1940 01">

  Fallschirmjager commander Kurt Student with Hermann Bernhard Ramcke and Hans Kroh in 1941 Bund

  Fallschirmjager or German paratroopers pratice their jumps Germany ebay 01

  Fallschirmjager or German paratroopers pratice their jumps Germany ebay 02

  Fallschirmjager or German paratroopers pratice their jumps Germany ebay 03

  Fallschirmjager or German paratroopers pratice their jumps prewar Germany ebay 01

  Fallschirmjager or German paratroopers pratice their jumps prewar Germany ebay postcard 01

  Fallschirmjager Wittstock parachute school 2nd student company ebay postcard 01

  Fallschirmjager Wittstock parachute school 2nd student company ebay postcard letter in hand writen German 01

  Gotha Go 242 glider Stkz GL+CQ with the ostfront yellow band where often used by Fliegerkorps units ebay 01

  Junkers Ju 52 3mg D1+41 during prewar para training operations 1940 01

II./Fliegerkorps

  MTO Junkers Ju 52/3mg4e II.Fliegerkorps C3KH operating between Italy and Tunisia Nov 1942 0A

  MTO Junkers Ju 52 II./Fliegerkorps 1 Staffel C3OH lies abandoned Gabes airfield Tunisia March 1943 IWM TR884

  MTO Junkers Ju 52 II./Fliegerkorps 2 Staffel C3KM captured in Tunisia Nov 1942 01

V./Fliegerkorps

  Ostfront Junkers Ju 52 V.Fliegerkorps G5Hx Modell Magazin Foto Archiv 05

VIII./Fliegerkorps

  Ostfront Junkers Ju 52/3mg7es VIII.Fliegerkorps V1LB Tatsinskaia airfield Nov 1942 0A

  Ostfront Junkers Ju 52/3mg7es VIII.Fliegerkorps V1LB Tatsinskaia airfield Nov 1942 0B

  Transportstaffel VIII Fliegerkorps V1LB painting 0A

The Raid on Tatsinskaya was a Soviet armoured raid deep into the German rear conducted by 24th Tank Corps under the command of Major General Vasily Mikhaylovich Badanov in late December 1942, during the last phases of the Battle of Stalingrad (Operation Little Saturn). It was designed to force the Germans to divert forces attempting to relieve the 6th Army encircled in Stalingrad. The Soviet force captured its objective, the Luftwaffe's airfield at Tatsinskaya, destroying over 72 aircraft on the ground, but was left cut off and without supplies. Despite the loss of most of the tank corps during the ensuing breakout, the raid was a great operational victory.

The raid

The raid was aimed at the German Luftwaffe's airfield at Tatsinskaya, from which a major part of the Stalingrad relief airlift was conducted. On Christmas Eve, 24 December 1942, they captured the airfield with an attack from three sides. The airfield may not have received a warning, since flight operations were still going on. An eyewitness account by a Soviet officer describes the scene:

Our tank detachments unexpectedly broke into Tatsinski military airport. First to penetrate enemy's territory was captain Nechaev's battalion. A tough fight between tanks and enemy artillery began. Germans were shooting grenades at the Russian (sic - Soviet) tanks and managed to blow up several of them. However the Soviet tank crews broke the Nazi defense. After they destroyed patrol forces, Russian (sic) soldiers started shooting German pilots that rushed to their planes desperately hoping to save their lives.

24th Tank Corps claimed the destruction of over 300 planes on the airfield, while German estimates were 72 were actually destroyed or almost 10% of the transport capacity of the Luftwaffe. The airfield defenses were quickly overrun, and while over 100 transport planes managed to escape, German losses were heavy. As the tanks were low on ammunition, many of the planes destroyed were rammed by the tanks. A number of planes were destroyed while still on railway cars on which they had arrived. Once the airfield was seized however, 24th Tank Corps was cut off, and found itself without supplies deep inside the German lines.

Zhukov states the Corps "captured a trainload of disassembled aircraft", and "crushed" 200 German transport aircraft "ready to take off." Then "for five whole days the armoured corps held Tatsinskaya, putting up fierce resistance to encircling enemy reserves.

 Wikipedia :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Tatsinskaya

  Ostfront Soviet T 34 tanks knocked out during the battle of Tatsinskaya which destroyed over 72 aircraft 01